Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (97) faces off against the New York Islanders during second period NHL action in Edmonton on Tuesday November 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
EDMONTON – Connor McDavid is just one point away from writing yet another illustrious chapter in his already storied career.
McDavid had a goal and three assists, including setting up Leon Draisaitl’s overtime winner, as the Edmonton Oilers won their second straight game, defeating the New York Islanders 4-3 on Tuesday.
The superstar forward is now just one point away from becoming the 99th player in NHL history to hit the magical 1,000 points plateau for his career. With 658 games now played, when McDavid hits the mark he will become the fourth-fastest player to reach the milestone – trailing only Wayne Gretzky (424), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656). At 27, he will also be the fourth-youngest player ever to reach 1,000 points as well.
“Nothing’s happened yet, I guess maybe I’ll save that for when it happens, but it’s not lost on me the speed to get there with the names that are there above me, the very best,” McDavid said. “But nothing’s happened, have to get ready for another one on Thursday.”
McDavid has now recorded seven points in his last two games after posting a total of only two points in the previous four.
“Nights like that, I don’t want to come off the ice,” the Oilers captain said of his four-point performance. “I felt good, I thought (head coach Kris Knoblauch) did a great job of giving me lots of opportunities tonight. I felt good and lucky to contribute to a good win.”
The Oilers captain will be looking to hit the impressive 1,000 point mark on Thursday at home against the Nashville Predators, something Draisaitl imagines he would prefer to do rather than having to try and do so when the Oilers travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Saturday.
“I hope I am not going to jinx it, but I have a feeling it is not going to get to Toronto. Knock on wood, hopefully I am right. I am sure he would love to do it in front of our fans at home,” said Draisaitl, adding that even after all these years as teammates, McDavid still leaves him in awe. “We are not talking greatness; we are talking legendary type stuff. It is fun to be a part of.”
Draisaitl had two goals in the game to put him at 12 for the season and Evan Bouchard also had a goal and two assists for the Oilers (8-7-1) who have now won six straight home games against the Islanders and have gone 12-1-0 over New York in their last 13 games in Edmonton. Netminder Stuart Skinner made 19 saves for the Oilers.
Anders Lee had a pair of goals and Kyle Palmieri also scored for the Islanders (6-6-4) who have lost two straight. New York trailed 3-1 midway through the third and mounted an impressive comeback to garner a point, but couldn’t complete the comeback in overtime.
“There are nights going home, you’re pissed off. There are nights you’re going home and say, “˜OK, we stole a point.’ And tonight, that was the case,” said Islanders head coach Patrick Roy. “Down 3-1, the guys showed a lot of resilience.
“But at the end, I think we were just gassed. I’m extremely proud of our guys. Extremely proud. That was a good effort by our guys, and we played against a very good team.
Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves in net for the Islanders.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
